While leveraging cloud computing may be a start, applications that depend on specific network configurations or non-standard operating systems often needs more support. Enter container orchestration – the automated arrangement, coordination, and management of software containers that may house code, runtime, system tools, system libraries and settings.

If your software infrastructure is as simple as users accessing an application, which directly accesses your replicated database, you can probably get by without advanced management. But the more functions your applications perform, the more you’ll need to rely on automation to optimize your network performance.

Designing Container-Based Applications

The greater functionality your application provides, the more likely it is you’ll need to divide your application into smaller blocks of specific tasks. Segmenting these responsibilities into containers helps you identify different computing needs across your network and better plan for optimization. In addition, you can run multiple instances of these containers across your network to maintain utmost availability. Add a caching layer and queue and you can increase performance by processing tasks through shareable data across your containers.

Clearly, partitioning services and tasks into many containers can become complex, but orchestration platforms can streamline and automate these requirements to achieve optimal performance. Take it from the 206 developers, developer executives, and IT leaders who identified their top benefits from using containers:

59% improved their application quality and reduced its defects

54% improved their employee productivity

52% responded more quickly to changes in the market

Taking advantage of the flexibility of containers, developers have been able to take new and improved approaches to application architecture. By packaging an application’s different services into separate containers, you can isolate software from its surroundings and deploy these functions across your network of physical or virtual machines. This approach minimizes conflicts between teams running different software on the same infrastructure.

Maximizing Performance with Container Orchestration

Simply separating tasks into containers won’t help you reach peak performance in and of itself. Container orchestration tools take your grouping of application tasks and automates their deployment, management, scaling, networking and availability. Especially if you plan to scale to enterprise levels, orchestration becomes an absolute necessity.

With the expectation of at least 99.99% uptime, implementing and managing new technology can become a burden on more than your team – it can also burden your network and data center. When workloads have special policies or requirements for host placement, performance and high availability, the absence of systematic management is often problematic.

To maintain performance as the demands of your application and network shift, you must develop procedures and protocols that you can entrust to a container orchestration platform. Rather than scrambling to address specific implementation details – especially as you scale – you’re able to focus on designing the way in which you want your applications to run. However, that’s only possible if you take the proper approach from the start.

You need to create a clear path from application development to production:

Testing → Integration → Validation → Staging → Production

Through different development stages, several teams and stakeholders will play a role in creating your application and determining the most suitable container orchestration. The only way to ensure organization is to outline reporting and alert protocols before you get to work. Otherwise, any bugs or development issues can grow to become more and more damaging. You need to be prepared for anything and everything, including system failures and disasters. Planning your data backup, recovery and continuity is as important as any piece of your development and implementation.

Orchestrating an Ideal Future

With orchestration, you don’t need to worry about keeping your application running, responsive and healthy. You don’t need to stress over maximizing your memory, storage and network bandwidth. With proper planning, you’re free to focus on how to scale your app and build toward your future.

In order to take advantage of container development and orchestration, you need a data center that can handle your network requirements, however. And not all providers are created equal. How do you know if your data center is equipped to handle your container application and orchestration tool?

Learn how to select a data center that can address your problems and add value to your network by downloading our offer.

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About Kaylie Gyarmathy

As the Marketing Manager for vXchnge, Kaylie handles the coordination and logistics of tradeshows and events. She is responsible for social media marketing and brand promotion through various outlets. She enjoys developing new ways and events to capture the attention of the vXchnge audience.